Don’t Look Now, But Crimping Is Making A Comeback

1997 called – it wants its crimper back. The trend we thought we’d left behind with the glitter hair mascara has hit the runway once again – and Instagram is loving it.

Don’t scoff – while most of us left our crimping tools to gather dust along with our body glitter and bum bags collection, acclaimed hairstylists the world over were secretly clinging onto their crimpers with good reason: it’s the ultimate volumising hair hack.

“Crimping is a session stylist’s secret to creating incredible volume and big hair,” vouches celebrity hairstylist Adam Reed. “It’s one of those trends that everyone is scared of but it never goes away.”

Beyonce: a long-time fan of crimping.

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Richard Kavanagh, ghd Australia and New Zealand creative director, agrees. “It might not be something you initially think of using a crimper for but it’s so easy to create volume and bounce.”

While we’ll admit we were shocked when the new ghd Contour™ – a bona fide crimping tool – landed on our desks, it didn’t take us long to get on board. Kavanagh suggests crimping the under-layers of your hair to boost volume without the need for teasing or an overload of product.

“Wherever you need extra volume or bounce, simply take a narrow section (about two centimetres thick by five or six centimetres wide) and add texture near the roots with the ghd Contour™. Apply the contour for a few seconds and release,” he guides. “Do three or four sections like this at the crown area, and brush the un-crimped hair over the top to hide the texture.”

If you’re prepared to try your hand at visible crimping, the trick is all in the technique. “It’s now a lot softer and more subtle,” says Reed. “Bring the trend up to date by avoiding crimping all of your hair and experiment with different sections for a dual texture effect.”